In the third year of the reign of ^1aJehoiakim king of Judah, ^2bNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 The ^aLord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, along with some of the ^barticles of the house of God; and he brought them into the land of ^1cShinar, to the house of his god, and brought the articles into the treasury of his ^dgod. 2+@Chr 36:5-7; Jer 27:19, 20; Dan 5:1-3

3 And the Babylonian king told Ashpenaz, the chief of his ¹officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some from the royal ^afamily and from the nobles, 2+@Kin 20:17, 18 4 young men ^awithout blemish and handsome in appearance, ^bskillful in all wisdom, endowed with intelligence and discernment, and quick to understand, competent to stand in the presence of the king and able to serve in the king’s palace. He also ordered Ashpenaz to teach them the literature and ^clanguage of the ^1dChaldeans. 5 The king assigned a daily ration for them from ^ahis finest food and from the wine which he drank. They were to be educated and nourished this way for three years so that at the end of that time they were prepared to ^benter the king’s service. 6 Among them from the sons of Judah were: ^aDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 The commander of the officials gave them Babylonian names: Daniel he named ^aBelteshazzar, Hananiah he named ^bShadrach, Mishael he named ^cMeshach, and Azariah he named ^dAbed-nego.

8 But Daniel made up his mind that he would not ^adefile (taint, dishonor) himself with the ^1bking’s finest food or with the ^cwine which the king drank; so he asked the commander of the officials that he might be excused so that he would not defile himself. Num 6:1-4; 1+@Cor 10:21 9 Now God granted Daniel ^afavor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials, 10 and the commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has prearranged your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking more haggard than the young men who are your own age? Then you would make me forfeit my head to the king.” 11 But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please, test your servants for ten days, and let us be ^agiven some vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance and the appearance of the young men who eat the king’s finest food be observed and compared by you, and deal with your servants in accordance with what you see.”

14 So the man listened to them in this matter and tested them for ten days. 15 At the end of ten days it seemed that they were looking ^abetter and ¹healthier than all the young men who ate the king’s finest food. 16 So the overseer continued to withhold their fine food and the wine they were to drink, and kept ^agiving them vegetables.

17 As for these four young men, ^aGod gave them knowledge and skill in all kinds of literature and wisdom; Daniel also understood all kinds of ^bvisions and dreams. Luke 21:15; James 1:5-7

18 At the end of the time set by the king to bring all the young men in before him, the commander of the officials presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. 19 The king spoke with them, and among them all not one was found like ^aDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they were selected and assigned to ^bstand before the king and enter his personal service. 20 In every matter of ^awisdom and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ^bten times ^cbetter than all the learned ^dmagicians and enchanters (Magi) in his whole realm. 21 And Daniel remained there until the ^1afirst year of the reign of King Cyrus over Babylon; now this was at the end of the seventy-year exile of Judah (the Southern Kingdom) in Babylonia, as foretold by Jeremiah. Ezra 1:1-3; Jer 25:11, 12; 29:10

In the third year of the reign of ^aJehoiakim king of Judah, ^bNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the ^aLord handed Jehoiakim king of Judah over to him, along with some of the ^bvessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of ^cShinar, to the house of his ¹god, and he brought the vessels into the treasury of his ^2dgod.

3 Then the king told Ashpenaz, the chief of his ¹officials, to bring in some of the sons of Israel, including some of the ²royal ^afamily and of the nobles, 4 youths in whom there was ^ano impairment, who were good-looking, suitable for ^binstruction in every kind of expertise, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability to ¹serve in the king’s ²court; and he ordered Ashpenaz to teach them the ³literature and ^clanguage of the ^dChaldeans. 5 The king also allotted for them a daily ration from the ^aking’s choice food and from the wine which he drank, and ordered that they be educated for three years, at the end of which they were to ^1benter the king’s personal service. 6 Now among them from the sons of Judah were ^aDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 Then the commander of the officials assigned new names to them; and to Daniel he assigned the name ^aBelteshazzar, to Hananiah ^bShadrach, to Mishael ^cMeshach, and to Azariah ^dAbed-nego.

8 But Daniel ¹made up his mind that he would not ^adefile himself with the ^bking’s choice food or with the ^cwine which he drank; so he sought permission from the commander of the officials that he might not defile himself. 9 Now God granted Daniel ^afavor and compassion in the sight of the commander of the officials. 10 The commander of the officials said to Daniel, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has allotted your food and your drink; for why should he see your faces looking gaunt in comparison to the youths who are your own age? Then you would ¹make me forfeit my head to the king.” 11 But Daniel said to the overseer whom the commander of the officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 “Please put your servants to the test for ten days, and let us be ^agiven some vegetables to eat and water to drink. 13 Then let our appearance be ¹examined in your presence and the appearance of the youths who are eating the king’s choice food; and deal with your servants according to what you see.”

14 So he listened to them in this matter, and put them to the test for ten days. 15 And at the end of ten days their appearance seemed ^abetter, and ¹they were fatter than all the youths who had been eating the king’s choice food. 16 So the overseer continued to ¹withhold their choice food and the wine they were to drink, and kept ^agiving them vegetables.

17 And as for these four youths, ^aGod gave them knowledge and intelligence in every kind of ¹literature and expertise; Daniel even understood all kinds of ^bvisions and dreams.

18 Then at the end of the days which the king had ¹specified ²for presenting them, the commander of the officials ³presented them before Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king talked with them, and out of them all not one was found like ^aDaniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; so they ^1bentered the king’s personal service. 20 As for every matter of ^aexpertise ¹and understanding about which the king consulted them, he found them ^bten times ^cbetter than all the ^dsoothsayer priests and conjurers who were in all his realm. 21 And Daniel ¹continued until the ^afirst year of Cyrus the king.